Bristol Sights: Harbourside

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The floating harbour is the jewel in Bristol's crown, and many of its attractions are on or close to the harbour:

• SS Great Britain, Gas Ferry Road, Tel: +44 (0)117 926 0680, www.ss-great-britain.com. The world's first iron hulled, screw propeller-driven, steam-powered passenger liner, built by Brunel in 1843 and now preserved in a dry-dock alongside the floating harbour. Winner of the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year 2006 - the Biggest Arts Prize in the U.K. Open every day Apr-Oct 10AM-5:30PM; every day Nov-Mar 10AM-4:30PM; closed Dec 25/26. £10.95 (adults); £8.95 (senior citizens); £5.95 (children).

SS Great Britain

• Red Lodge. The house was built in 1590 and then altered in 1730. It has fine oak panelling and carved stone chimney pieces and is furnished in the style of both periods. The garden has now been laid out in Elizabethan style
• Museum of Bristol, Princes Wharf, Tel: +44 (0)117 922 3571, www.bristol-city.gov.uk/ccm/content/Leisure-Culture/Museums-Galleries/the-museum-of-bristol.en. Scheduled to open in 2010. It will be located in the L-Shed, the former site of the Bristol Industrial Museum that closed in October 2006.
• @Bristol, Harbourside, tel: +44 (0)845 345 1235 (within UK only), www.at-bristol.org.uk. Explore science centre and planetarium with interactive displays covering the brain, inventions and unexplained mysteries. Open every day 10AM-6PM; closed Dec 25. £11.90 (adults); £9.90 (students & senior citizens); £7.70 (children).

Also in the Harbourside is the Blue Reef Aquarium and 3D IMAX Cinema www.bluereefaquarium.co.uk/bristol.htm From the hidden world of UK waters, this amazing new aquarium transports visitors to the spectacular 'underwater gardens' of the Mediterranean and stunning beauty of tropical waters - home to everything from seahorses and puffer fish to living corals and tropical sharks.

• St Mary Redcliffe Church, www.stmaryredcliffe.co.uk a short walk from Bathurst Basin. Described by Queen Elizabeth I, as "the goodliest, fairest and most famous parish church in England"
• Brandon Hill & The Cabot Tower, off Park Street (about 10 minutes walk up a steep hill from the centre of Bristol). This attractive and hilly park is worth visiting, if only for the views over Bristol from the hill-top. Even better views can be gained by climbing the narrow spiral staircase within the Cabot Tower atop the hill. Open every day from 8AM to 30mins before dusk. The tower is currently closed for significant structural maintenance and will reopen this summer, 2009.
• Bristol Cathedral, College Green, tel: + 44(0)117 926 4879. www.bristol-cathedral.co.uk Originally the abbey of St Augustine, founded in the Norman era, extensively rebuilt in the 16th and 19th centuries. The seat of the diocese of Bristol. Open daily, free, donations welcome.

• www.ss-great-britain.com
• www.bristol-city.gov.uk/ccm/content/Leisure-Culture/Museums-Galleries/the-museum-of-bristol.en
• www.at-bristol.org.uk
• www.bluereefaquarium.co.uk/bristol.htm
• www.stmaryredcliffe.co.uk
• www.bristol-cathedral.co.uk